Next in our series of unlikely business gurus...Jimi Hendrix
Guitar god, Jimi Hendrix
Wild man of rock guitar he may have been, but James Marshall Hendrix, to give him his full name, also lived a life well worth examining from a business point of view.
Hendrix is revered these days as the daddy of electric guitarists — and he was at the forefront of many technical advances in recording — but many of the skills he is famous for, such as playing with his teeth or with the guitar behind his head, had been done for years by others. He took the bits he liked from a variety of sources and melded them into his own sound.
Any entrepreneur knows that waiting for the truly original, pure idea could take a lifetime — and why bother when there are other people’s ideas you can play with? Hendrix also struggled to gain recognition in his own country, the USA, and it was only when he came to Britain in the late 60s that his fame was assured. Business is out there, but you have to go get it yourself, not wait for it to come to you.
And, once you get the chance, take it for all it’s worth. In four action-packed years, between 1966 and 1970, Hendrix took the rock world by storm, and his performance of The Star Spangled Banner at the Woodstock festival has become the iconic moment of the ‘hippy’ era. Since then, death (in 1970) has not dented his bottom line. It may not be literally better to burn out than fade away, but it’s certainly worth creating something with lasting appeal. Don the fringe jacket and get with it, man.
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